Interests and Obsessions
King Henry VIII and his 6 wives
I don't remember there being anything in particular that sparked my interest. I do remember realizing one day as I walked past an antique book store that it had become an obsession. I wanted to learn as much as possible about the King. I am so curious about his life. Amazed at how little he really cared about anything but himself, his complete and total disregard of the laws and the beliefs of the church, his power over those around him... Of course, if they disagreed with anything he said, he would have them beheaded
He spent his whole life without knowing true love. How very sad.
Six wives... Drew them in, used them to get what he wanted and threw them away when he was done. Literally. He divorced two of them, had two beheaded and one died after child birth. It is said that he told the physician if he could only save one life to save the child as other wives are easily found. What a spoiled yet sad soul!
Genealogy
I have always been a bit "nosey" about the past, especially when it comes to family. How did they meet? How did they live? How big or small were their families and homes. I want to know their strugles an triumphs.
Thanks to my friend Sheila, a few years ago I learned that there are great ways of finding this information even about people who have been dead for many years. She showed me how to find many things I had never even thought of. I bought myself some software to start keeping track of everything. I started recording everything I could get my hands on. I had great conversations with my grandparents and their brothers. The have great stories to share. Some of them have even taken the time to copy information that they have to share with me. I am so grateful for these things.
Of course, that lead me also to my husband's family. There are so many large families and I began eagerly recording their information as well.
It is a fun hobby. I could literally get lost in the information for days.
Mixed Media Art
A few years ago, my mother started talking about the "projects" she had been working on. When I was visiting her, she showed me what she was talking about. She uses things, often discarded things, to make art. You can check out some of her work at www.picturetrail.com/wallysyaya. I started to do some of the things she taught me. I have not been able to do as much as I would like. I need to find a better way to balance my time with work, school, my husband and my son so that I may have a little more time to pursue this. In the meantime, I love looking at the work my mom does, as well as the work of others.